


Lullaby

by soongtypeprincess



Series: Married Coppers [17]
Category: Life on Mars (UK)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Parents, Babies, Domestic Bliss, Family Feels, Family Fluff, Gay Policemen in the 1970s, Gen, Post-Series
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-26
Updated: 2018-07-26
Packaged: 2019-06-16 09:59:27
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,410
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15434553
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/soongtypeprincess/pseuds/soongtypeprincess
Summary: It's two in the morning and Gene must attend to the baby.





	Lullaby

**Author's Note:**

> I DO NOT OWN THE CANON LIFE ON MARS CHARACTERS!!

The noise started as a low whimper and Sam lifted his head at the sound. The whimper became grunts, then a whine, and he nudged Gene’s shoulder. “Oi, Guv...the baby’s awake.” No response from his sleeping partner, so he shook him by the shoulder. “Love.”

Gene rolled onto his back and groaned. “Wha…?” he asked, coming out of his deep slumber.

“Baby’s hungry,” Sam whispered as he rested on his pillow again.

Gene raised his arms over his chest and groaned again as he stretched. “She’s always hungry.”

“Takes after you,” Sam quipped, grinning as Gene huffed. “Better get a bottle before she wakes up the neighborhood.”

Gene sat up and pulled on the vest that was on the floor beside the bed. He yawned as he stood up and walked to the door. “Keep the bed warm for me,” he said, but Sam was already dozing.

In the kitchen, Gene opened the refrigerator and giggled at the six bottles of formula that sat next to his beer. He selected one of Ruthie’s bottles, thinking to himself that he should perhaps nurse on a Watneys later to help him go back to sleep.

Ruthie was two months old now and her 2:00 am feedings had become part of their routine. It was trying at first, and although Gene and Sam used to stay up to work on a case or fool around in bed, after Ruthie’s arrival they found themselves falling asleep in front of the television by 8:30.

Annie pumped her breast milk the first few weeks and would bottle it for them, but she had to stop when her breasts started to swell and her nipples turned red. The doctor said it was mastitis, an infection caused by clogged milk ducts and he told Annie to stop pumping, but it was of no grievance to her. She and Sam were looking at different formulas anyway for when the time for breast milk would stop, so she was prepared, not to mention relieved. No more excusing herself every two hours to kick Gene out of his office, since his was the only one with a sofa and blinds on the windows.

After heating the bottle in the electric warmer, Gene attached a clean rubber nipple onto it and climbed back up the stairs. Ruthie started to cry. “Papa’s coming, sweet girl,” he answered her in a sleepy voice.

A dim night light shone in the nursery and he could see the silhouette of the mobile that hung above the crib. His mother found it in her attic and meticulously dusted it off before giving it to them, telling Sam that it used to hang above Gene’s crib.

It was a farm parade consisting of a sheep, a cow, a horse, a duck, and a farmer dressed in dungarees and a yellow straw hat. The mobile had a tab in the middle of it and Gene pulled it down, bringing to life the animal parade. It slowly turned above the crib, jingling the tune of  “The Farmer in the Dell.”

Gene grinned at Ruthie as her large blue eyes stared up at the mobile with quiet fascination. It always soothed her and she watched it a bit longer before seeing her papa, and the corner of her mouth pulled back in a half grin as she gurgled at him.

“Do you know what the time is, young lady?” Gene playfully scolded her, reaching down and patting her tummy. “It’s snack time, yeah?”

He shook the bottle over his wrist to test the formula’s temperature. “Perfect,” he said, nodding his head. He picked her up and rested her against his chest and she grunted, looking around the room.

“Look at you with your head up,” Gene praised. “What a clever girl you are! Soon you’ll be sitting up and then crawling, and before you know it, you’ll be outrunning Daddy.”

Ruthie emitted what sounded like a giggle and Gene returned it as he sat in the rocking chair next to the bassinet. “But first things first, my girl,” he said as he positioned her in his left arm to cradle her. “Another round.”

She took the rubber nipple in her mouth and sucked, making loud noises with her tongue. Gene laughed again. “Not so quickly,” he admonished. “You’ll get the hiccups again, Miss Ruth Anne. Yes, that’s right, you will.”

Ruthie looked up at him as she suckled, taking short breaths through her little nose and clenching and unclenching her tiny fists.

“What you think of that?” Gene asked her, referring to her bottle. “Pretty good, eh? Must be. You’ve had seven today. You’re eating more and getting bigger.” He moved the rocking chair back and forth at a leisurely pace. “Wonder if there’s a formula to keep you this tiny. That’d be fine by me.”

Ruthie grasped Gene’s fingers that held the bottle.

He playfully gasped. “No, you can’t hold the bottle yet. You’re too small. That would mean you’re growing up and we can’t have that.” He shook his head as he smiled, making her grin again. “No, no, my dear, we can’t have that!”

Gene continued to rock her as she drank. He still could hardly believe that she was finally here, after months of anticipation and nights of him and Sam lying in bed deciding who she would look like.

Gene remembered how much Sam hoped that Ruthie would have his blue eyes, and she did, exactly the same hue and intensity, along with Gene’s sandy blonde hair that was getting thicker on her small head. Her chin and cheeks were from Annie, as was her observant nature, always studying new faces and new objects that came her way. She had the most inquisitive look about her when he and Sam would take her for outings in her pram, and everyone who fawned over her would point it out in an amused tone.

Ruthie suddenly moved her legs about and whimpered as she pulled away from the bottle.

“Done already?” Gene asked. “You’ve got a bit left.”

She reached up for the bottle and he moved the nipple into her mouth where she sucked greedily.

“I know why you’re restless,” Gene told her. “Because when Daddy feeds you, he sings, doesn’t he?” He lifted his arm at a higher angle and crossed his legs, continuing to rock in the chair. “Well, I don’t sound as nice as Daddy, but I’ll give it a go, yeah?”

He smirked as he thought of a song. “I know just the one. Your granny sang it to me and your uncle.” He paused and licked his lips. “You would’ve loved your Uncle Stu. I know he would’ve loved you, baby. Bloody well would’ve spoiled you rotten, too, that’s a fact. Just to take the piss out of me.”

He felt his eyes burn with tears but he blinked them back before clearing his throat. 

_“Hush little baby don't say a word._

_Papa's gonna buy you a mockingbird_

_And if that mockingbird won't sing,_

_Papa's gonna buy you a diamond ring_

_And if that diamond ring turns brass,_

_Papa's gonna buy you a looking glass_

_And if that looking glass gets broke,_

_Papa's gonna buy you a billy goat_

_And if that billy goat won't pull,_

_Papa's gonna buy you a cart and bull_

_And if that cart and bull fall down,_

_You'll still be the sweetest little baby in town.”_

Gene realized that Ruthie was lying still on his arm and gazing up at him, her bottle finished. He set the bottle on the arm of the chair before putting her against his chest to burp her.

“You can come in, you girl,” he said with a smile, and Sam approached them from his place in the door.

Sam sniffed as tears ran down his stubbled cheeks and he wiped his eyes, saying, “That was very sweet.” He bent and pressed a kiss on top of Gene’s head.

“How long were you standing there?” Gene asked him, patting Ruthie’s back.

“I heard the mobile,” Sam replied with a light giggle, “and I got out of bed to come see her.” He sniffed again and stroked Ruthie’s soft, fine hair and she smiled at him. “Hello, baby girl,” Sam greeted her. “Was that a good late night snack?”

She answered him with a loud burp, to which they both laughed.

“Told you she takes after you, Guv,” Sam said.


End file.
